CCM Offers New AAS Degree in Information Technology

Beginning this fall, students entering County College of Morris (CCM) can pursue an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Information Technology. Graduates can directly enter the job market or continue their education at a four-year college.

“Planning and managing an organization’s information technology infrastructure is a difficult and complex job that requires a solid foundation in applied computing as well as management and people skills,” says Nancy Binowski, chairperson and professor of the Department of Information Technologies at CCM. “Students will be prepared to meet the computer technology needs of business, government, healthcare, schools and other kinds of organizations.”

Graduates will be entering a job field that is projected to grow by 43 percent from 2010 to 2020 and has a higher median wage than is seen in other occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As a result of the worldwide expansion in the use of technology in recent decades, many colleges and universities now offer a bachelor’s level degree in information technology, a distinctly different career path requiring more diverse skills and academic requirements than a career in computer science, which concentrates more exclusively on computing theory and using programming to solve problems.

The new AAS in Information Technology will offer students five tracks of specialization to choose from: Web Development, Mobile Application Development, Digital Forensics, Security and Networking.

“This will allow students to specialize in currently popular areas of study while still focusing on a core skill set that will maintain its value for years to come, even when the requirements of business change with advancing technology,” Binowski says. Students will also develop the skills required for A+, Security+ and Network+ industry certifications, something that the current job market demands of IT professionals.

To accommodate the varied schedules of students, courses will be offered during the day and in the evening. Also, some courses will be offered online and on Saturdays, and an accelerated sequence of the Web Development classes will be available in the early and late semester sessions. For more information, visit http://catalog.ccm.edu/credit/areasofstudy/infotech/.